Heavy winds damage two Air India planes

Two Air India aircraft, including a Boeing-787 Dreamliner, were grounded after their engines were hit by an aerobridge and a container, both pushed by strong winds, at the IGI airport here.

Two Air India aircraft, including a Boeing-787 Dreamliner, were grounded after their engines were hit by an aerobridge and a container, both pushed by strong winds, at the IGI airport here.

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“A B787 and a B777 suffered damaged. Damage in both cases was to the engine. The 787 suffered a damaged in the cowl after being hit by a jetty while 777’s engine thrust reversal was damaged after a container hit the aircraft from the rear,” said an official.

In the case of B-787 Dreamliner, its left side engine was hit by jetty (aerobridge) and the nose cowl was damaged, while the thrust reverser of the Boeing-777’s right side was damaged after being hit by a container which hit it from the back, the sources said.

The Boeing-787 plane (VT-ANV) was parked at Bay 22 while the second one (B-777 VT-ALK) was at Bay 18.

At the time of the incident, wind speed went up to 48 knots whereas the forecast was of only about 20 knots, DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) sources said.